Workplace devotions: Comic Book Christian - Acts 20

Acts 20:3b       Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, Paul decided to go back through Macedonia. 

Have you seen the new movie “Salt” starring Angelina Jolie yet? It’s actually a very good and highly entertaining film. It’s the usual spy thriller about lies, love, and deception. Jolie plays an American spy who ends up being double-crossed and chased by the NYPD, FBI, CIA, and the Secret Service. The KGB are also after her and the whole movie is about how she avoids capture and manages to save the world from a nuclear war. Yes, it’s a bit far-fetched and could never happen in real life, but it’s a movie, so what do you expect?

When I read about the Apostle Paul and all of his escapades in the Book of Acts, I am constantly amazed at how he survives. He’s blinded, beaten up, and imprisoned. He’s almost lynched and has to escape mobs in various cities. He’s hunted down by religious fanatics who take a divine oath to kill him. He survives an earthquake and is shipwrecked. Wow! Any one of those incidents would have wiped me out, but Paul perseveres and continues to preach all across the Mediterranean.

I guess you could call Paul the New Testament’s answer to a comic book hero. Nothing brings this man down. He is so confident about his faith in Christ that he is willing to face danger wherever he goes.

It makes me wonder what Paul would be doing today if he was still on Earth. How many escapades would he have to face in order to preach the Gospel? How many times would he upset the Church by not conforming to the culture? Which lands would he dare to take the Gospel to? Israel? India? Saudi Arabia? The USA?

But Paul is not here and so the responsibility of taking the Gospel to the world is in our hands. It makes me wonder what faith adventures and witnessing opportunities God will bless us with this week. Will we accept the mission that Christ gives us, or will it seem too hard or impossible to carry out? Maybe when we are given the chance to share the Gospel, we should ask ourselves inwardly: “what would Paul do?”

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of Paul as a pioneer of the Gospel. He led an incredible life and we are so fortunate to have records of his journeys, as well as the letters that he wrote. We know that we can never be totally like Paul, but we pray that we can fulfill the opportunities that You give us to witness to Your Gospel. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s drawing of the road leading up to the Plantation on Pawley’s Island. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4891285135_f7ee928fc9_b.jpg

Office Devotions: Revival, not Survival - Psalm 80

Psalm 80:18 Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your Name. 

Survival or revival? Emerge or resurge? Churches today have to seriously work out where they want to be in 5-10 years time, if they want to survive the first half of this new century. It’s no use keeping on for the sake of holding on. That’s just wishful thinking and more churches are closed because of good intentions or clinging to nostalgia. We live in a new age, with new ideas. We need to learn to adjust or become as dust.

Now I’m not advocating syncretism, where the Church falls to its knees and allows the current culture to totally shape it. That would be a betrayal of Christ and a march towards insignificance, which would eventually lead to irrelevance and extinction. I’m talking about revival or rebooting the Church from within its own ranks, in order to make better disciples of Christ, greater messengers of His Truth, and more practical followers of the Faith.

We cannot do this on our own. We need to invoke and implore the Holy Spirit to come among us, to release us from survival mode and put us into Revival. It would mean that every church member of every congregation would truly re-commit their lives to Christ. That should be the ambition of every church in existence. Christ’s message is timeless and has stood the test of two thousand centuries of opposition. If we truly relied upon the Word of God as our Way of Life then the Church that would emerge would be full of people who were constantly resurging their Christian faith.

Today is a good day to start. Now is the right moment to reboot our beliefs and refocus on our faith. It’s time for all of us to seriously place Christ at the center of our existence. If we honestly do this today, then we will seek new opportunities to share our revived faith with our friends, families, and even strangers. And that, after all is said and done, is why we are divinely blessed with life, love, and faith in the first place.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, revive our commitment and connection to You this day. Open our hearts to the blessing of Your Holy Spirit and allow our minds to accept Your Way, Truth, and Life. Empower and enable us to become effective, relevant, and useful disciples in our congregations and communities. In Your Holy Name, we expectantly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest autumn drawings of the Smoky Mountains. It’s called “Fall in Leaves” and is currently on exhibit at Erin Church. You can view a larger version of the drawing at the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4877571660_cc7d070bb8.jpg

25 limited edition signed prints are available from John.